§260.9. Free-of claims.
16 C.F.R. § 260.9
It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance. Such claims should be clearly and prominently qualified to the extent necessary to avoid deception.
A truthful claim that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance may nevertheless be deceptive if:
The product, package, or service contains or uses substances that pose the same or similar environmental risks as the substance that is not present; or
The substance has not been associated with the product category.
Depending on the context, a free-of or does-not-contain claim is appropriate even for a product, package, or service that contains or uses a trace amount of a substance if:
The level of the specified substance is no more than that which would be found as an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level 47 ;
The substance's presence does not cause material harm that consumers typically associate with that substance; and
The substance has not been added intentionally to the product.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Authority
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41-58.
Source
Source: 77 FR 62124, Oct. 11, 2012, unless otherwise noted.